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Winged Monkeys
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900. The Winged Monkeys of OZ The Winged Monkeys aka (Flying Monkeys), are fictional creatures created by L. Frank Baum, author and creator of the Oz Legacy. These specific monkeys are a unique and very rare race of animal who inhabit the magical land of Oz. They all bare a immense pair of feathered wings and can fly into the air like a bird. The monkeys are a very popular band and are neither of good nor evil, yet somewhere more in between. They can do either bad or good depending on the situation and who owns them at the time as they are Slaves to the charm of the magic Golden Cap of Oz. .]] History of Winged Monkeys The Winged Monkeys aka Flying Monkeys were once a free band of animals, living in the forests in The Land of Oz, doing as they pleased. They were all a carefree bunch, but also rather mischievous, always looking for some fun to have a good time and always getting into innocent trouble. However, one fateful day in the land of Oz, the leader of the Winged Monkeys, decided as a prank, to toss a very richly dressed man into a raging river, soaking him from head to toe and completely ruining his costume of golden silk and golden velvet. The man, whose name was Quelala, was good natured enough and did not mind the prank and thought it was rather funny. But his fiancée on the other hand, a Royal Princess and beautiful Sorceress named Gayelette was distraught and ever so furious. For the day the monkeys chose to play the prank on Quelala, was the same day of his and Gayellette's wedding. Gayellette was so upset in fact that she punished the Winged Monkeys forever, cursing them by making them the Slaves to the Golden Cap that she had specially prepared as a wedding present for her beloved betrothed. The cap was a beautiful one indeed, being made out of golden velvet and golden spun silk to match Quelala's wedding attire. And even real sparkling Diamonds and red Rubies ran all across the cap to adorn it. It is rumored that this cap alone cost Princess Gayellette half of her kingdom and sorcery to construct. When finally given the cap to wear after the wedding, Quelala then used It's powerful charm only once and once only, commanding the Winged Monkeys to stay far away from Gayelette, in fear that his new wife may do something terrible to the monkeys due to her short temper. As the years went by, the monkeys did as they were told and never came near Gayellette nor her kingdom ever again. In the Wonderful Wizard of Oz Eventually the magic cap fell into the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West, who used the Winged Monkeys to conquer all of the Winkie Country, enslave the Winkie people, defeat the Great Oz, and capture Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion, destroying the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in the process. After the Wicked Witch was killed by being melted away by Dorothy, she took the cap to wear it and eventually used it also. The first time, she commanded the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her companions to the Emerald City. Then she asked them to carry her home to Kansas, but they could not because they are not allowed to travel beyond the magical realm of Oz. Thus, resulting in Dorothy wasting one request and command of the cap's magic charm. Her third and finql request was for the monkeys to safley carry her and her friends over the rocky mountain of the unfriendly Hammer-Heads on her journey to the Quadlings who inhabited the south lands of Oz to see Glinda the Good as her last hope and option of returning home again. Dorothy finally gave the cap to Glinda, who ordered the monkeys to carry Dorothy's companions back to their new homes in Oz, and then to cease to bother people. She then gave them the cap as their own, to free them forever, ending the curse Gayellette had thrust upon them many years prior. The Wizard of Oz (1939) The monkeys in the classic Judy Garland film, are purple monkeys, with purple wings that wear elaborate caps and matching vests. They are simply the creatures of the Wicked Witch of the West. The monkey leader is named Nikko. They do not speak, or act independently of the Witch's will. The Golden Cap can be seen, making a cameo appearance in the Witch's castle chamber, but she does not wear it nor say it's charm. The Witch sends the monkeys out to apprehend Dorothy Gale and her companions, but they only get Dorothy and Toto and scatter the Scarecrow's straw. They disappear from the story after the Witch has been melted. Most likely just like the Winkie gaurds, they were all finally set free from her bondage after she died.(The Wizard of Oz) :Their presence in the film has given the flying monkeys their iconographic identity in modern-day popular American culture. The Wiz 1978 In the 1978 all African-American musical version of the story. The Wiz made the flying monkeys a motorcycle gang, and they all had a very unpleasent smell, which the Wicked Witch could not stand at all. Oz the Great and Powerful 2013 In this Disney version which is a prequel to the 1939 movie, there's three different races of winged and flying monkeys. The evil and scary Winged Baboons with sharp teeth and claws are strictly controlled by the Witch of the East Evanora. The only representative of the other race of monkeys is Finley, who is smaller than the winged baboons and much more intelligent and intellectual. The purple monkeys of the Wicked Witch of the West- Theadora, have not emerged yet. Finley is a very friendly and timid young monkey who works as a Bell-Boy in the Emerald City. Finley becomes a loyal friend of Oscar Diggs who is destined to be the Wizard, that the prophecy in Oz has been waiting for to finally be fulfilled. Finley, whom he owes a life debt for saving him from a Pre-Cowardly Lion who makes a brief cameo appearance. Finley chooses to help Oz on his journey and carries the Wizard's bag and becomes a member of his party to safe Oz. The Winged Baboons, meanwhile, are much more uglier and larger and are very ferocious. The power hungry Witch Evenora controls an enire Army of them, which she uses to bully, victimize and ultimately terrorize and then destroy various races and settlements all throught parts of Oz, including the Dainty China Country which was completely destroyed by them. Leaving only one known-lucky survivor, who was the China Girl. (Oz the Great and Powerful) That's 70's show-Tornado Prom Episode In the popular TV sitcom 'That's 70's show', Eric becomes a flying monkey in Jackie Burkhart's Oz dream. Depictions in modern fiction In Alexander Volkov's Magic Land series, they appear in one more book after the first (By Stella' request, they delivered the analogue of the Magic Picture to Scarecrow, who was suffering from boredom), and are mentioned once more. The latter case makes it obvious that their reputation is quite ancient, since the mere mention forced a giant witch to reconsider fighting Stella - and the witch in question was asleep for five thousand years. While not bound to serve anyone, they are friendly to Stella. .]] In Gregory Maguire's revisionist novels ''Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, the flying monkeys were created by Elphaba (the Witch) as part of her experiments on the nature of the soul and what distinguishes non-speaking animals from intelligent, speaking Animals. In these novels, most of the flying monkeys cannot speak, but Elphaba's favorite (named Chistery) has a distinctive speech pattern characterized by the repetition of similar-sounding words. In the musical adaptation, the monkeys gain wings as part of a magic spell gone awry. The Vertigo comic book series Fables features a flying monkey named Bufkin, who may be a survivor of a conquered Land of Oz. David Hulan's story "The Gauds of Oz" offers an explanation for how the Wicked Witch obtained the Golden Cap and so gained control over the winged monkeys. Other modern Oz writers also exploit the monkeys — see Dennis Anfuso's The Winged Monkeys of Oz, Chris Dulabone's The Marvelous Monkeys of Oz, and Peter Schulenburg's The Unwinged Monkey of Oz. In Comics In Marvel's graphic novel adaptation the Winged Monkeys were dressed like soldiers. They still serve the Wicked Witch of the West, as she owns the hat that controls them. Their role in the story is identical to that in the original book, but with a new visual spin on them. A green Winged Monkey named Bufkin serves as the librarian in Fabletown. (Fables) In Video Games In the i0s game Oz Run, Winged Monkeys are among the two types of enemy to avoid, the other being Wicked Witches. In Temple Run: Oz, Evanora's Winged Baboons replace the Temple Run series' standard Demon Monkeys as the main enemies chasing the player. They chase Oz through the Whimsie Woods, and also through the Dark Forest. They also swoop down at Oz, forcing him to duck under them. Finley also appears, giving Oz boosts by flying him over the terrain. A Flying Monkey rebels against the Wicked Witch in the i0s game Flying Monkeys of Oz. The Witch shoots fireballs at him, while swirling energy ambushes him from all sides as the Emerald City passes in the background. Dorothy Gale later joins him and rides on his back. In Merchandise In Todd McFarlane's action figure line "The Twisted Land of Oz," two flying monkey action figures (with a bloated Munchkin) are available as part of the "Collector's Club." According to the accompanying story, they are the Wizard's minions, transformed into steampunk cyborgs due to "Ozmic power." Political interpretations Some historians who interpret The Wizard of Oz as a political allegory suggest the Winged Monkeys represent African-Americans, oppressed by an overbearing force and who are relieved to be free of that bondage when the evil force is terminated. Others see them as hired Pinkerton Agents who worked for the Trusts in the 1890s and hounded labor unions. (L. Frank Baum made an explicit reference to Pinkerton agents in a later book, The Lost Princess of Oz, p 211) References in pop culture These characters have had enough impact, between the books and the 1939 film, to have taken their own place in pop culture, regularly referenced in comedic or ironic situations as a source of evil or fear. *Flying monkeys have appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Simpsons. *The Wayne's World catch-phrase "and monkeys might fly out of my butt!" may be a reference, at least incidentally, to the winged monkeys. *In the movie Jumanji, monkeys see inside a TV shop on a television the winged monkeys from the Wizard of Oz, so they break inside the shop and steal TV sets. *In the 1973 movie Hunter, actual footage from the Wizard of Oz movie is used to brainwash a race-car driver, terrorizing him until he screamed the line "Stop the monkeys! PLEASE Stop the monkeys!" *The music video for "Heretics & Killers" by Protest The Hero opens with a shot of the front page of a newspaper stating 'The Witch is Dead: Flying Monkeys Out of Work'. The remainder of the video features the bandmembers dressed as the Flying Monkeys, trying (and failing) at various jobs, begging on the street, getting thrown out of a bar, and rocking out. *In the DCOM movie Halloweentown High Debbie Reynolds' character Aggie Cromwell say "Whoever heard of hockey without Flying Monkeys". *In the movie Inkheart, flying monkeys made their appearances as black monkeys with large eagle wings. They were with other animals in the dungeon after Darius used to read and said these words. Darius released them with other animals to attack Capricorn and his goons before they were returned to the Wizard of Oz book by Meggy who created her own words to send animals back to the books in the end of the movie. *The Flying Monkeys apeared in Dora's Birthday Adventure! References Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Oz Movie Characters Category:Wicked Characters Category:Creatures